Beauty Bible beauty clinic: How to choose the right foundation for you

Our weekly Q&A from the Beauty Bible experts Sarah Stacey and Josephine Fairley, whose latest book is The Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible. Their series of Beauty Bible books are now bestsellers worldwide – and this column solves your beauty dilemmas. Visit their website,beautybible.com,
for lots more information, tips and exclusive offers. If you have any
beauty dilemma you would like them to answer, you can e-mail them there
too.

Visit their website, beautybible.com, to source any of the
products mentioned below online – and for lots more information, tips
and exclusive offers.

Q I have two weddings to go to this summer and am looking for a light foundation. I have fair normal/combination skin with slight rosy cheeks and nose, and I'm sometimes prone to sweating on my nose and top lip. But I'd like something that I can use every day after that please.

A It is such a good idea to plan ahead - as you are doing. So: here are our suggestions, and we hope you have a wonderful time.

For the foundation, we don't think you can do better than Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation, £35 for 30 ml and available in 18 shades. We are so impressed with this featherlight foundation, which gives a flawless finish. It is simplicity itself to apply straight from the squeezy nozzle – we use a ring finger to smooth on - and is easy to carry.

Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation

Wild About Beauty Mattifying Balm

Liz Earle Light Reflecting Concealer

If you are worried about your dewy nose and upper lip, we hear very good reports ofWild About Beauty Mattifying Balm, £21, which instantly makes skin look smooth and even (it recently was a runner-up for a CEW Award and has become something of a 'cult' favourite). Sponge it on before or after make-up. We suggest you could carry this with you for emergencies. We also love those old-fashion blotters, called papiers poudre. Local chemists often stock them or, on the luxury side, Chanel makes Papier Matifiant sheets, £21 for 150 sheets

Polish off your lovely complexion withBobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder Palette, £40, in Brightening Nudes. Load a big brush, knock off the excess and waft over your skin to keep it pristine all day. You can also dab a fingertip in one of the six shades and press where you wish – great for accentuating eyes and brows.

Finally, we never go anywhere withoutLiz Earle Light Reflecting Concealer, £15.50, Stroke it round your eye area, particularly in the dark corners either side of the nose and over dark circles to brighten your whole face. If your rosy cheeks are on pink alert, dot this on and blend in to bring down the colour, then apply the powder above.

NB One last thought: if you are wearing a hat with a brim, do remember to accentuate eyes, cheekbones and lips…

One of our
nicest days out from the office last year was visiting the Thrive garden
in Battersea Park, where Jo Malone had funded the restoration of this
neglected space.

They’re continuing their work to regenerate and improve urban spaces,
taking on two new UK projects (watch this space) and an exciting
partnership with the New York Restoration project. (Because this
British-born brand is now truly global, of course.)

This lovely limited-edition candle helps to raise funds, with all sale
proceeds going towards their gardening projects. (NB Not profits,
proceeds – which is much more meaningful.) But Jo Malone’s engagement
is about more than renovating spaces: it’s about people.

Their stated
aim (of which we approve wholeheartedly) is ‘to give people in need the
opportunity to engage with their communities, fostering social
inclusion, promoting physical and mental health, and developing
gardening skills as a pathway to work and self-sufficiency.’ Hurrah for
that.
So: you get a beautiful candle inspired by a rambling English garden,
with rose given an aromatic twist by sage and rosemary. It’s like
sitting in the shade on a warm summer’s evening, when flowers and herbs
are pumping out into the cooling air.

And deserving individuals get a chance to blossom, through horticultural activity.
How beautiful is that?